Podcast about Laura's Life Growing Up!

Monday, December 30, 2013

Check out this link to Laura's interview with GolferMom.com. Although not a Mom herself she offers great insight on what it's like to grow up in a golfing family and tips she's learned from working with a lot of Mom's. This is the first interview in a four-part series that will debut over the winter of 2013/14. Be sure to check it out!http://golfermoms.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Laura-Patrick-Growing-Up.mp3

Do you need a lesson or a coach – and what is the difference?

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Do you need a lesson or a coach – and what is the difference?

Definitions from Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Lesson – a piece of instruction, a reading or exercise to be studied by a pupil, a division of a course of instruction, something learned by study or experience.

Coach – one who instructs or trains, one who instructs players in the fundamentals of a sport and directs team strategy

Aside from the actual definitions of the two words, let’s look a little deeper. Professional athletes have coaches, most youth programs have coaches, most sports in general have coaches, yet the average golfer doesn’t have a coach. At best they take an occasional golf lesson…or worse, attempt to diagnose and fix their own swing.

Most golfers are fixers instead of improvers. Somewhere in the golf industry we’ve failed golfers because we’ve led them to believe they are just one golf tip away from “fixing their swing” and reaching their goals. Unfortunately, this assumption could not be further from the truth. Yes a golf tip or two can be helpful, but golf tips never really stick and represent only a very small piece of your game. A coach has the ability to tell you why you are not shooting the scores you want to be shooting, identify the areas that need improvement, make changes to the areas that will have the biggest impact on your game, and then continue to build upon those skills to help you reach your goal. A good coach will truly help your game improve.

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Here are three thoughts on lessons, self diagnosis, and game maintenance:

1. If you are feeling sick, would you march into the doctor’s office and demand a certain remedy based on what you have decided is wrong with you, or would you ask the doctor why you are feeling this way and then proceed through different tests to truly find out why you are sick? What if you had a pain in your arm and decided you pulled a muscle but it turned out to be symptoms of a heart attack? Lessons correct symptoms while coaching helps to diagnose the underlying problems and create a plan for improvement.

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2. Would you ever walk into a pharmacy and take the first drug you see? If you took the wrong drug, it might not help at all…or could even kill you? Self diagnosis combined with self correction can be deadly. There are many ways to swing a golf club and each way has compatible and incompatible pieces. Choose the wrong fix and it could make everything worse…and you could even injure yourself.

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3. Would you take your car to the mechanic to get a strange noise fixed and then not change your oil for 50,000 miles? Even when you make changes, it’s good to keep up with maintenance on your game. You never know what problems might creep in if you don’t perform regular maintenance, and Murphy’s Law states that it will most likely blow up at the worst possible moment.

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Coaching often looks beyond the golf swing because there are many factors that can affect performance. A half hour lesson can only address so much. It is the coaching relationship that allows for true diagnosis of underlying causes of poor performance. How can you be sure that the reason you don’t play well on the back nine is because you didn’t swing your driver well? With long-term students I often find that the area where they are struggling is not just caused by their inability to swing the driver well on the back nine, but a combination of many things that causes them not to drive the ball well on the back nine. Maybe they don’t drink enough water, they don’t fuel their body correctly, their legs get tired, they are using an improperly fitted driver, they start focusing on their score instead of the shot at hand, they make an incorrect club/strategy choice, they don’t account for an increase in wind speed, their mind starts to wander to what they need to do after the round, or they tell themselves they never drive well on the back nine creating fear and anxiety over the ball. If they only work on their swing with the driver they may never identify the underlying cause of why they actually don’t hit their driver well on the back nine.

It is the student-coach relationship that allows for correct identification of the challenges that causes a student to not perform as expected and for improvements to be made over time. Yes, maybe there is a change that needs to be made to their swing, but often times there are unidentified issues that have a huge impact on their ability to succeed. Coaching golf is complicated – for the coach, not the student. It takes years of education from a playing and teaching standpoint to be a great coach. A golf coach has to not only learn what it truly takes to improve at golf, but they also have to develop a relationship with their student over time that will allow them to learn about their student’s game and then tailor a plan that will help that individual student improve. Once you find a great coach, you will have a consultant and a friend (who truly understands you and your game) to guide you along your journey to an improved game. You will work side-by-side with your coach to help create your unique road map to success – factoring in your personal preferences and styles for learning.

I ask that you approach your game improvement as an investment – one that can truly help you reach your goals. Before spending $300 on a new driver or $800 on a new set of irons, ask yourself if your money would be better spent by learning which areas of your game you need to improve and creating a plan to improve them. Remember – golf clubs are the only thing you will ever spend hundreds of dollars on that don’t come with an instruction manual on how to use them. Give yourself the gift of better golf today and invest in a good coach.

What can a better game do for you?

Call Laura Patrick, LPGA Professional at 763-267-7531

Want to Help Your Teenage Son or Daughter Achieve Their Goals?

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Want to Help Your Teenage Son or Daughter Achieve Their Goals? Hire a Coach Who Understands What Your Son or Daughter ACTUALLY Needs to Know to Achieve Their Goals.

Once teens understand the basics of golf, they often become frustrated when they aren’t doing as well as their peers, their parents, or their own expectations for their game. Golfers in their adolescent years (especially athletes) believe that they should be able to play well almost immediately. After all, how hard can it be to get the ball that isn’t moving into a hole?

Maybe your child needs help understanding the basics of how to get the ball in the air consistently so they can play with their friends, maybe they are frustrated that they lose a gazillion balls each time they play, or maybe they are trying to take their game to the next level so they can play on the golf team. There are many reasons why your son or daughter wants to get better!

My Player Development and Personal Coaching packages are designed to increase your son or daughter’s knowledge of the how the game is actually played – from skill development to emotional management. My coaching packages not only teach the basic knowledge of the game, but will help your child understand cause and effect in their golf swing/short game, the importance of a healthy body, decision making skills, positive emotional management, and how to evaluate a situation to make a plan for success. Each student comes to me with a different set of knowledge and needs that I will evaluate to make their game and approach more successful – and more fun!

I have a lot of experience teaching and coaching at the junior high, high school, and college level. I really enjoy working with this age group in a one-on-one setting. Most teens tend to become more self conscious as they age, and there tends to be a lot on their minds when standing over the ball. I help them to sort through the metal clutter, to create a positive outlook, to deal with worry and negative thoughts, and to blend that with their improved golf skills. I also make sure to communicate with this age group as equals to make them part of the learning process. I ask a lot of questions, collaborate with them, and explain concepts allowing for them to help create their own improvement plan rather than me merely telling them what to do. By teaching students “how to think” rather than “what to think”, they are empowered to grow beyond what we cover in lessons…and that is the true beauty and potential of golfers in this age group.

Here are some topics I will cover with your son or daughter in my coaching packages:

No one plays “perfect golf” – how do I play imperfect golf and still have success.

Creating a golf swing that produces adequate distance and repeatable results (based on age and goals).

How to get the ball in the hole around the green (and why it’s important).

Decision making skills – measuring risk/reward and evaluating strengths and weaknesses to create a strategy that works for you.

How to practice to improve – and that doesn’t mean hitting 500 balls in 45 minutes.

How to react when things don’t go your way – managing thoughts and emotions to improve results.

You can only control what is actually under your control, but you can influence the outcome based on proper execution of the things you can control.

Managing performance anxiety, expectations for yourself, and what you think other people expect of you.

Not only will your child have more fun and success while playing, but they will also be less stressed and upset about their golf game – and who doesn’t want a happier, less stressed kid in their house!

Contact me at 763-267-7531 to sign up for a coaching package today. To ensure quality of instruction for each student, I am limiting my coaching packages to the first 20 participants who sign up.

Laura Patrick

LPGA Teaching Professional

P.S. If requested, “parent time” can be scheduled the last few minutes of each lesson to talk about your son or daughter’s improvement plan so you and your golfer are speaking the same language.

Testimonials

"Laura is the reason I enjoy golf today. In her lessons, after watching some swings she gets quickly to the point, explains simply and clearly the change(s) needed, and reinforces and refines the fixes as the lesson continues. I have learned that to enjoy golf as an older person, I need to be taking occasional lessons so that I can feel like I'm improving, not just getting frustrated. Laura has been a perfect instructor for my game, and I constantly use the changes she has suggested for more satisfying results." -Chris H.

"I have taken lessons from Laura for about a year now and have found her instruction benefited my golf game immediately. In the past I’ve had other Pros tear apart my swing to the point where it’s been difficult to enjoy playing. Laura encouraged me to spend quality time on the range to reinforce what she corrected in my swing. I found out on the course I could see the results and feel the improvements she suggested. She has also helped me address some mental blocks which have caused plenty of frustration. I have enjoyed my lessons with her immensely and also have my two sons taking lessons from her as well." -Trish Johnson

" 'Keep it simple' – I have recently taken lessons from Laura and the benefits were almost immediate (after some work on the range of course). Laura keeps it simple so a person can take her teachings and apply them without feeling overwhelmed with change. Will definitely take more lessons from her and highly recommend!" -Tigh Surdez

“Laura brings an incredible amount of energy and passion to each lesson. Rule one for her is that golf is a game that none of us can perfect so enjoy the experience, enjoy those you are playing with, and enjoy the opportunity to improve course management. At the same time – though it seems initially at odds with the perpetual enthusiasm and humor – Laura brings a sense of calmness to an environment where frustration and disappointment can easily overcome success. That calmness translates directly to my first practice swing at the course through the last putt. I can’t say enough good things about her philosophy and teaching.” -William Hittler (student since 2009 and creator of the 4 F’s of Golf Success – Fun, Fearless, Focus, and Forgiveness)

"Fun" with a capital F is how I describe golf with Laura. I have played golf since I was able to stand on my own two feet and have during my career had several different golf coaches, and Laura was by far the most hilarious coach I've ever had. Not only was she able to make me have fun while practicing and playing but she also had me see my potential both on and off the golf course. Although she was coaching several girls at ones she was able to see each of our abilities and areas for improvement while working with us based on our own learning methods. Laura teaches in a way that helped me learn so that I could apply it on the course. If I had a bad shot I had an understanding of what I was doing wrong and what I needed to do differently. Although always super energetic and happy she was always the one person who could calm me down during a golf tournament and who could make me have fun out on the course even in rough times. Laura is a wonderful person and a great golf coach and I would recommend her to anyone who asks.” -Johanna (Frykmark) Kitzman (Augsburg Women’s Golf Team Member from Stockholm, Sweden)